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Update Archives For January 2006

31 January 2006

Star Collections Update -- Complete run of Valiant

Having recently acquired a remarkable run of Valiant from issue 1 (6/10/62), we're now proud to present the first part of this virtually complete run, from 1962-1966. Full details in the Boys' Adventure & War Comics section of our online catalogue. The home of Kelly's Eye, Captain Hurricane, the Steel Claw, House of Dolmann and scores of other stellar stories. Vailiant is one of our best sellers and this collection is not only a virtually unbroken run (apart from the second half of 1964 and the first half of 1965, which we have in bound volumes), but there are also many duplicate copies in a variety of grades. A rare opportunity to fill those gaps or start a collection, so order early to avoid disappointment and watch for the remaining years of this collection coming online in future weeks!

Posted by Rob | 01:10 p.m. GMT | 31 January 2006

British update - Air Ace Picture Library

Scramble! In our Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libabries section, a squadron of Air Ace (first series), numbered in the 100's, low grade but all complete and readable. A cheap chance to catch up on one of the more popular vintage Picture Library series.

Posted by Rob | 11:36 a.m. GMT | 31 January 2006

American update - Magnus Robot Fighter, Millie the Model, Twilight Zone & much more!

A sweeping selection of less-often seen esoterica in this week's update to the American section of our online catalogue in the following categories:

*Gold Key/Whitman: New stock of Dr. Sloar, 77 Sunset Strip, Turok and Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, plus a very nice mid-grade selection of Russ Manning's futuristic hero Magnus Robot Fighter.

*Horror/Mystery 1960/1980's: Lots of stuff from different publishers, including Charlton's Scary Tales, DC's Doorway To Nightmare and Plop! (including issues #1 & #2), Marvel's Beware, and two seldom-seen titles: a very nice mid-high grade run of Gold Key's Twilight Zone, and a selection of Red Circle Sorcery. The latter 1970's title has work from Toth, Chaykin and Gray Morrow and is one of the best-kept secrets in comics.

*Teen Humour/Funny Girls: More Millie The Model and Modeling With Millie than you can shake a Schiaparelli at, in both her soap opera and Archiesque modes, plus Atlas's My Friend Irma and the bizarre Tippy Teen from Tower Comics (not to mention her pals Go-Go and Animal, who scored their own series too!)

Posted by Rob | 11:28 a.m. GMT | 31 January 2006

23 January 2006

The Alan Class Private Collection - Printing Plate/Comic Sets

As part of our exclusive agreement to market the Alan Class Private Collection, direct from the publisher's archive, we are now offering a selection of Printing Plate/Comic Sets. Each of these unique items comprises the four lead priting plates used in the original comic's colour printing, a copy of the comic printed with those plates and a Certificate of Authenticity hand-signed by Alan Class himself. These are packaged in a durable protective case. Several sets have additional historical artefacts such as colour proofs, interior page plates or printers' photostats.

Full details of the sets and contents may be found in the Alan Class Reprints section of our online catalogue. Prices for these truly one-of-a-kind items start at a reasonable £50; please note that due to their considerable weight, there is a minimum postal charge within the UK of £8.

Posted by Rob | 05:54 p.m. GMT | 23 January 2006

American update - Legion, Wonder Woman, Dell TV titles, Westerns and more!

A huge update to our American stocks this week in the following categories:

*DC: Just two titles updated this time, but they're choice. Firstly, the Legion of Super-Heroes run of Adventure Comics, with classy Forte and Swan art and futuristic fiction by Hamilton, Shooter and Bridwell (check out the take on feminism in #368 - barking!) And - Sufferin' Sappho! New Wonder Woman listings from the 1960's, both from her 'Wonder Tot' era and the 'Emma Peel' regime. The latter Sekowsky/Giordano issues particularly are very sought-after, so you'll need the swiftness of Mercury to grab 'em before they sell!

*Dell: A fine selection of film and TV adaptations for your perusal, including Beverley Hillbillies, Buccaneers, the ultra-rare Danger Man, Get Smart, the Monkees, Sea Hunt and 77 Sunset Strip, as well as the scarce Sherlock Holmes and Prince Valiant issues.

*Miscellaneous 1960-1979: One of our more esoteric categories replenished this time, with Captain Canuck, Captain 'Split!' Marvel, Captain Victory and SIlver Star by Kirby, Alan Moore's accliamed Miracleman, selections from the bizarre Atlas Seaborad menu (Grim Ghost, Morlock 2001, Phoneix etc), and the beautifully illustrated THUNDER Agents.

*Western: New entries for DC's All-Star Western in it's 1970's incarnation (home of El Diablo), Bat Lash (by Sergio Aragones and Nick Cardy, among the finest work by either creator) and Jonah Hex and Tomahawk; Marvel's Ghost Rider, Kid Colt and Western Gunfighters and Charlton's Billy The Kid. Move 'em out!

Posted by Rob | 05:44 p.m. GMT | 23 January 2006

British update - Annuals plus Beano, Buster, Jackpot

More favourites in this week's British update in the following categories:

*Annuals: More blasts from the past of the UK comics industry with a range from the 1950's to the 1980's including Jackpot, Bunty, Eagle, Jinty, Hurricane, Whizzer & Chips, Judy, Transformers and 2000 AD.

*Humour Comics & Picture Libraries: Three major titles updated this week: A virtually unbroken run of Beano from 1968, with a fine selection of adventure strips - Billy The Cat, Danny On A Dolphin, the Q-Bikes and more - as well as the more familair Biffo the Bear and chums. Plus a range of Buster from 1970-1977, including Fishboy, The Leopard of Lime Street, Marney the Fox and multitudinous hi-jinx from our titular hero and company. And a handful of Jackpot, from #1; a much-loved short-run title that brought us Richie Wraggs, Milly O'Nare & Penny Less, the suspiciously-familiar It's A Nice Life and more!

Posted by Rob | 05:29 p.m. GMT | 23 January 2006

15 January 2006

American Update - DC (inc Golden Age Superboy), Marvel (inc key Fantastic Four) & Atlas pre-code Horror

Some real gems in this week's American haul in the following categories:

*DC: More additions to DC's top titles, with Superboy (a lovely Golden Age batch commencing with #7), Angel & The Ape, the Showcase debut of Bat Lash, Wonder Woman (from her 'Emma Peel' era). Adventure Comics with Supergirl and everyone's favourite lovelorn journalista, Lois Lane!

*Marvel: Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four, topped-up this time (including the classic Hulk vs. Thing two-parter from issues #25 & #26), plus additions to Miller's Daredevil, Steranko's SHIELD, and 70's cult Super-Villain Team-Up (including the non-UK distributed Giant-Size #1 and regular size #2). Merry Marvel marches on!

*Horror 1940-1959: A panoply of pre-code Atlas Horror, with Journey Into Unknown Worlds, Mystic, Strange Tales and Suspense lining up to chill and startle you! Any Atlas Strange Tales is a rare sight, and Suspense #14's classic Russ Heath "Death With A Hypodermic" cover must be seen to be believed!

More next week!

Posted by Rob | 01:17 p.m. GMT | 15 January 2006

British Update -- Buster, Sparky & more humour

A big update to favourite titles this week in our Humour Comics & Picture Libraries section, with a bonanza of Buster, beginning in 1968 and ending in 1979, a choice selection of Sparky from 1973-1975 and minor additions to our stock of Beano and Whoopee!

Posted by Rob | 01:07 p.m. GMT | 15 January 2006

13 January 2006

Progress Report -- More British Comics!

We're pleased to say that about 90% of our shop area is now open again for browsers. We have today opened part of the British comics area in our basement, allowing browser access to our extensive stocks of Picture Libraries, Humour Comics and Alan Class comics, including the Alan Class Private Collection. Only the area containing Boys' Adventure & War Comics, Girls' Comics, Power Comics and Vintage UK and Australian Reprints of US Comics remains currently closed awaiting our attention, but that should be open again in 1-2 weeks, when our full range of stock will once again be available. Watch this space for the final progress report following the refurbishment of our premises.

Posted by Rob | 12:29 a.m. GMT | 13 January 2006

10 January 2006

American Update -- DC (inc Kamandi #1), Charlton (inc Mysterious Suspense #1), Blazing Combat, Amazing World of DC, FOOM.

A chunky update to our American stock this week, comprising the following:

*DC: A top-up of our Silver/Bronze DC universe, with additioons to Action, Adventure, Aquaman, Atom, Brave & Bold, Kirby's Demon, Flash, Green Lantern, Jimmy Olsen, JLA, Kamandi (inc high grade 1st issue), Lois Lane, Man Bat, Mr. Miracle, Phantom Stranger, Plastic Man, Ragman, Shazam, Strange Adventures, Superboy, Superman, Swamp Thing, Tales Of The Unexpected, Teen Titans, Wonder Woman and World's Finest -- almsot all key titles recharged!

*Charlton: From the House of Weirdness, new listings for Bionic Woman, Charlton Bullseye, Timmy The Timid Ghost, Yang and the elusive Mysterious Suspense #1, the first book-length adventure starring Steve Ditko's moralising hero, the Question.

*Vintage Magazine-Sized Comics: A couple of early issues of the Mad imatator Cracked, Marvel's Savage Sword of Conan and Conan Marvel Graphic Novels, and Warren's legendary magazines Creepy, Eerie and Blazing Combat -- including the ultra-rare 1978 Blazing Combat compilation!

*Magazines/Books About Vintage US Comics: Rare issues of the DC & Marvel in-house fanzines of the 1970's, Amazing World of DC Comics & FOOM. These 'outreach' mags featured seldom-seen photos, interviews, features, and unpublished art, and, having much lower print runs than the comcis of the time, are incredibly hard to find.

Keep watching. With our shop re-design following redecoration, we have a lot more space to display vintage items, and in the coming months we're going to fill it with more quality rare collectibles.

Posted by Rob | 09:34 a.m. GMT | 10 January 2006

British Update -- Rupert, Super-Detective, Thriller, Flash Gordon

Some old and wonderful stuff in this week's British update in the following categories:

*Rupert: Three exceptionally graded Rupert Annuals added to our selection: 1951 (#16) FN- £90, 1958 (#23) VF £90, and 1972 (#37) VF- £25. Much-loved by many generations, the Rupert Books only grow in scarcity and popularity in this grade with the passage of time.

*Boys' Adventure & War Picture Libraries: New listings for Super-Detective Library (starring space ace Rick Random and shapely detectrix Lesley Shane), Thriller Picture Library (He Came From Arizona) and Miller's Flash Gordon, re-editing newspaper strips. Rarities and curiosities all!

Posted by Rob | 09:18 a.m. GMT | 10 January 2006

4 January 2006

Website Catalogue Updates Recommence!

We're delighted to announce that after the interruption to our normal operations over the last couple of months, we are now adding new stock to our catalogue again. Some of the items referred to in our coming attractions listings for 2005 have obviously been delayed, but now we're back on track and expecting 2006 to be our biggest year yet for unearthing vintage delights of both British and American comics. There's tons of stuff in the pipe-line, so stay tuned!

Posted by Rob | 08:45 a.m. GMT | 4 January 2006

British update - Annuals, Collected Editions & Mags & Books About

The first of our relaunched updates has the following goodies in store in the British section of our online catalogue:

*Collected Editions: Charley's War, the acclaimed Mills/Colquohoun WW1 drama from Battle Weekly, gains its second collected hardcover volume, and the Titan James Bond newspaper strip softcovers continue with Colonel Sun. And at long last, Lion's anti-hero the Spider gets a hardcover compliation: 'King Of Crooks', in the first of what we hope will be many collections of vintage IPC/Fleetway series. Presumably to avoid potential copyright problems, the name 'Spider' appears nowhere on the cover, but it's the real deal, reprinting the Spider's first three adventures from 1965 & 1966, plus a bonus short from 1968.

*Annuals: Additions to our listings for Beano, Beryl the Peril, Dandy, Dennis the Menace, Oor Wullie, Sparky, Topper, Eagle, Lion, Warlord, Diana, Girl, Girls' Crystal, Judy, June and Tammy for your delectation.

*Magazines & Books About Vintage UK Comics: It's back, chums! Spaceship Away returns to the lists with issues 5, 6 & 7, bursting with features and reminiscences about 1950's Eagle mainstay Dan Dare. In addition to the text, each issue features new adventures in the classic style. Also in this update, the brand new 'Ultimate Book Of British Comics', a long-overdue critical retrospective and overview of many classic UK titles. Fact-filled and written in a cheerfully irreverant manner, it's an essential reference for UK comics' fans!

As always, full details of all these updates in the appropriate sections of our online catalogue. Watch for regular updates from now on every week!

Posted by Rob | 08:41 a.m. GMT | 4 January 2006

3 January 2006

Online payment via Paypal now available

Some excellent news for mail order customers who wish to pay by card but cannot get their card number to us in a secure way. We are now accepting payments online via Paypal to our email address:
sales@30thcenturycomics.co.uk.

This may be of particular use for our customers outside the UK who prefer not to phone, but is available to anyone with a Paypal account. We do not charge any extra fee for this service unlike many sellers on eBay, for example.

Full details may be found on our 'How To Order' page. Please note that anyone wishing to pay by this method should check for availability of items with us before making payment.

Posted by Rob | 05:25 p.m. GMT | 3 January 2006

Progress Report

Work continues apace at our shop. In addition to the ground floor being fully operational, our basement is now partially open as well, allowing browser access to all our American stock, magazines and Marvel UK. Only our British comics room is still being worked on and remains closed, although we hope to have that open again in the next couple of weeks. Watch this space for the next bulletin!

Posted by Rob | 02:11 p.m. GMT | 3 January 2006